Running Vine Old Vine Shiraz 2017

The vineyards are located on the South Western side of the Barossa Valley and the South Eastern reaches of Eden Valley, the total region is known and regarded the World over as The Barossa - Australia’s premier viticulture region. With an altitude of just over 210 - 457metres the cold nights and warm days ensure flavour development is long and slow, resulting in fruit with outstanding flavour concentration and deep colour.

The Shiraz is harvested in the cool early hours of the morning to retain flavour and freshness before destemming and inoculation with specific yeast – a Italian strain that ferments at cool temperatures and enhances colour, structure and the natural spiciness of the variety.

The ferments are undertaken in traditional 1 ton open fermenters for 8 days, each day the fruit is hand plunged pushing the skins under the fermenting juice to assist in great colour and flavour development of the wine. Once a day the juice is drained from the fermenter and then returned over the skins. With approximately 2 Baume the fermenting wine is drained from the fermenter and the skins basket pressed by hand. Total extraction is limited to a maximum of 550 litres per ton – extremely lower compared to an industry average of 750 litres per ton.

The fermenting wine is gravity transferred into a mixture of new and 3 year old French and American hogsheads to complete primary fermentation and malolactic fermentation. Upon completion the wine is racked and returned to mature for a minimum period of 24months.

The “assemblage” or blending is undertaken from individual barrel selection. Depending on the vintage we can have up to 20 hogsheads to select from. With the final wine usually ending with a volume of 3000 to 3500 litres as only the best is selected – so only 4000 to 4500 bottles are produced each year!

Standard Drink: approx.8.2   Preservative (220) added, may contain traces of egg product.